Combating Daesh: A Socially Unconventional Strategy
Masters thesis — Naval Postgraduate School, 2015. Full text: https://archive.org/details/combatingdaeshso1094545928
Arguments
Combating Daesh: A Socially Unconventional Strategy
Every counterterror campaign since has wrestled with the same question — you can't bomb a network out of existence without understanding the social logic that holds it together.
The US minimalist strategy against Daesh (military partnerships plus air support) was ineffective; a socially unconventional strategy — mapping the network with social network analysis and turning its own social-movement dynamics against it — could induce implosion from within.
Why it matters
Every counterterror campaign since has wrestled with the same question — you can't bomb a network out of existence without understanding the social logic that holds it together.
Use when: Map the network before you fight it — kinetic force degrades capability, but only attacking the movement's social structure unravels it.